Spring has arrived in northern Illinois with warming temperatures and spring rains. At this time of year, we can observe many of the early ephemerals in bloom. Many of these species only bloom for a short period before the flowers are gone, but the plants continue to grow and put forth fruits and seeds before dying back altogether until next spring. Let’s take a look at what is blooming right now in our area.
Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, is one of the earliest plants to bloom as soon as warmer temperatures stabilize. It is a perennial that grows up to a foot tall. Each leaf unfolds to reveal a single white flower with bright yellow anthers. Each flower blooms for only one to two days, and the entire colony of plants last about two weeks.
Sharp-lobed hepatica, Hepatica nobilis acuta, a member of the buttercup family, reaches only a few inches in height. Flowers are white, pink, or blue, clustered in tufts of several blooms. They like woodlands and rocky bluffs, and flowers persist for two to three weeks.
Celandine poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum, is a taller plant between 12″ and 18″ in height. Each stem bursts forth in two to four golden yellow flowers. If cut open, the sap is an orangish-yellow color. After about three weeks, flowers die back and an inch long, ovoid seed capsule grows for several weeks before releasing numerous seeds upon splitting open.
Virginia bluebells, Mertensia virginica, stands tall at one to two feet. Pale pink or blue flower buds open to light blue tubular flowers. Blooms last about three weeks and make a dazzling display when plants are observed clustered over a large space in many shaded woodlands throughout the area.
Shooting star, Dodecatheon meadia, is a group of 17 subspecies of flowering plants found throughout North America and Siberia. Standing up to 18″ tall, a cluster of eight to twenty purple, pink, or white flowers with yellow stamens hang from the top of each stalk.
Spring beauty flowers, Claytonia virginica, open on warm, sunny days but remain closed when clouds or cool breezes are present. They bloom for one to two months in late spring and like dappled sunlit areas. White blooms with pink lining give off a pleasant floral scent.
White trout lily, Erythronium albidum, grows in large patches of four to six inch high plants with bright white blooms that stand out among dark green leaves mottled with brown markings. The flower nods from a short stalk and blooms for about two weeks in late spring.
Cutleaf toothwort, Cardamine concatenata, stands about ten inches tall with large-lobed, toothed leaves. Many small white flowers with yellow anthers bloom above the leaves for about two weeks.
Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, stands up to eighteen inches tall. Infertile plants produce one leaf on a single stalk. Fertile plants have two leaves on petioles branching from the stalk, with a nodding flower growing from the juncture of the petioles. Flowers are pale white with a yellow or greenish middle.
Trillium grows in prairie and woodland habitats. There are seven recognized species, and two of the ones that you are most likely to observe in our area are large-flowered trillium, Trillium grandiflorum, and prairie trillium, Trillium recurvatum recurvatum. Large-flowered trillium is declining in population, preferring swamps or wet soil areas, which are also declining as development expands and destroys these habitats. Prairie trillium prefers open woodlands dominated by oak, hickory, and maple species. All species of trillium are notable for their structure consisting of three leaves and flowers with three petals.
Dutchman’s breeches, Dicentra cucullaria, stands about six inches tall, with a white flower shaped like a pair of pants hung upside-down from a pedicel. These plants are found in undisturbed woodlands, especially along ledges and ravines throughout Illinois.
Eastern redbud, Cercis canadensis, is a small tree or large shrub, growing up to thirty feet high. The bark is dark and smooth, and twigs are slender with a zig-zag appearance. Flowers bloom in mid to late spring and form small, vivid rose-colored bunches.
Amalanchier is a genus that includes about two dozen varieties of small trees or shrubs. These are known by several different common names including shadwood, serviceberry, sugarplum, saskatoon, and others. They bloom for short periods in late spring, displaying clusters of four to twenty white flowers. Small red berries grow in mid to late summer, but do not last long since they are a favorite food source for both birds and small mammals.
Getting out for a walk to your favorite prairie or woodland habitat over the next few weeks will provide the opportunity to observe many of these plants while they are in bloom, including our own woodland trail around Lake Benedictine here at the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum.
